Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5 — The Southern Cross, September 19, 1985
Savannah Diocese - September 28-29
Women In Church And Society To Be Discussed
Questions concerning the position of women in the Church
and society will be discussed by Catholic women all over
the Diocese of Savannah the weekend of September 28 and
29, in an effort to gather input from each area for the
pastoral Letter on that subject which is being prepared by
Ae United States Catholic Bishops.
The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will organize
the great opinion-gathering process, with meetings
scheduled in each of the seven deaneries.
Caroll Quinn, Past President of the DCCW, and Lucille
Ussery, Immediate Past President, will coordinate the pro
ject, with Sr. Patricia Brown, SSMN, Vicar for Social
Ministry, putting together the statistics from each area.
Every Catholic woman in the Diocese is invited to attend
the sessions, giving her opinions and participating in the
discussions. The discussion process will take about two and
a half hours, under the chairmanship of local leaders. Six
questions will be asked. The ladies taking part will answer
the questions and voice their concerns during round-table
discussions and in general debate.
A “sign up” Sunday (the weekend of September 21-22) is
being organized, in order to give facilitators some idea of
the number of forms and other materials to provide. Ladies
are encouraged to sign up ahead of time if they wish to par
ticipate, but pre-registration is not required, Carroll Quinn
stated.
Questions to be used in diocesan consultations include:
-As you reflect upon your experiences as a Catholic
woman, what stands out for you?
-In what ways do you feel appreciated as a woman in the
Church? In Society?
-In what ways do you feel oppressed/discriminated
against in the Church? In Society?
-As you reflect upon your personal experiences, what do
you find contributes the most to the reconciliation
harmony, affirmation, dignity, healing? Of women in the
Church? Of women in society?
-As you reflect upon your personal experiences, what do
you find contributes the most to the alienation (abuse,
divisiveness, dehumanization) of women in the Church? In
society?
-As you reflect upon your personal experiences, what
issues/themes emerge as the most important for the
development of the Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Women in
the Church and in society?
Education Institute September 26-27 In Savannah
A special invitation is being extended to
parents, Savannah Deanery CCD
teachers, School Board members and
others interested persons, to attend an
evening session of the Diocesan Education
Institute scheduled for Thursday,
September 26.
• The evening session, beginning at 7:30
p.m. at Benedictine Military School, will
begin with a presentation by Dr. Claudia
Thomas, a psychologist in private practice
in Savannah, on the topic: “Parents Help
ing Children to Cope with Stress.”
Three concurrent presentations will
follow, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Ron and Ann
Dr. Richard T. Corrado
Ljfy
Vatican Letter
"Novelties" In
VATICAN CITY (NC) - A Vatican let
ter sent in the name of Pope John Paul II
has sharply criticized what it called un-
anted “novelties” in the liturgy.
In an apparent reference to liturgical ex
perimentation in recent years, the letter
said the celebration of the Mass should not
“degenerate into folklore” and lose its
sacred character.
In a meeting with Japanese bishops
Sept. 2, Pope John Paul stressed adapting
local culture to the Christian message as a
key to successful evangelization.
The liturgy, the Vatican letter said, “has
* j need of uninterrupted novelties, nor is it
constantly looking for ‘adaptations’ that
(are) neither requested nor desired by the
Christian people.”
Trudell from Warner Robins will discuss
“Family Prayer,” giving suggestions to
help parents unify the family and deepen
family faith.
James Crawford, Treatment Coor
dinator at Sand Hills Psycho-educational
Center in Richmond County, will discuss
“Parents Who Have Children with Special
Needs.”
Shirley Wright, Executive Director of
Parent and Child Development Services,
Inc., will speak about “Living Creatively -
the Challenge of Single Parenting.”
The evening session is open to interested
participants at no charge.
The goal of the Institute, which will offer
multiple workshops and general presenta
tions, is to help educators articulate and
realize the vision they have as Catholic
School or CCD teachers. Presen tors will be
examining factors and issues now shaping
society, and reflecting on the impact these
will have on people in the future.
The keynote address, scheduled for 12:30
p.m. on Thursday, will be given by Rev.
James Hawker, Director of Religious
Education, Archdiocese of Boston.
Among other key speakers are Sister
Judith Coreil, MSC, assistant Director for
Curriculum Development, National
Catholic Education Association, and Dr.
Richard T. Corrado, a veteran Catholic
Educator and former Superintendent.
Workshops will cover many issues affec
ting today’s society: telecommunications,
social issues, the use of computers,
Respect for Life, learning disabilities, and
vocation education. Athletics in schools
will be discussed by a panel of coaches. Dr.
Charles Nash, of Armstrong State College,
will discuss professional growth of
teachers.
Liturgy Criticized
Such changes are often expressions of a
“restless subjectivism,” it said. It did not
refer to any specific liturgical practices.
The letter, signed by Vatican Secretary
of State Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, was
sent to a meeting of Italian Catholics in
Padova during Italian National Liturgical
Week. It was made public by the Vatican
Sept. 2.
The letter said modern Catholics want
stability and continuity in liturgy. They
want “something certain, solid, durable,
to oppose the instability of the
ephemeral,” the letter said, “and not just
in substance, but in the form with which
the substance needs to be protected and
nreserved.”
Workshops covering academic areas in
clude presentations on music,
mathematics, creative writing.
There will be several workshops for
religion teachers, including “From Vision
to, Reality” (Sr. Rose Bill); “Shared
Christian Praxis,” (Sr. Marylyn
McDonald, OP.), “Teaching Teachers to
Teach Religion,” (Sr. Janet Roddy and Sr.
BY SHIRLEY LA VECCHIA
Modern Day Saints: The Pied
Piper and Others
The story of the Pied Piper is familiar to
nearly everyone. Remember the scene
where the piper plays his tune and the
children of the town follow him gladly?
Well, I’ve met the modern day Pied
Piper—Pied Piper of the nursing home.
This “piper” is a woman who, despite her
chronic and crippling arthritis, goes to the
nursing home once a week to hold a crafts
class for the residents there. She has
become so popular at the home that,
whenever she appears at the door, folks
line up and follow her down the hall to the
activity room. Thus the name “Pied
Piper”! She says her gift of self is so in
significant, especially in light of what
others accomplish. But anyone who has
seen the faces of the residents when she
“Reading about saints is
interesting...meeting them is
a joy beyond words!”
appears will know her gift is not insignifi
cant to these people! Anyone who has seen
her struggle to walk and the constant pain
with which she lives would know her gift is
indeed significant.
Recently, when we traveled to New York
to bury my father-in-law, many family and
friends offered their sympathies.
However, the one whose gift of self I will
always remember will be the 12 year old
boy living next door to my in-laws. He
walked in the house and approached my
mother-in-law with these words, “I am
sorry that your husband died. I want you to
know that I will mow your grass in the
summer and clear the snow from your
steps in the winter. You can depend on
me.” What greater gift than this?
And then there are the people I’ve met
who live their beliefs in the most intimate
Cheryl Donahue.) and “Fundament
alism,” (Father Douglas K. Clark.)
The Institute to open to all interested in
the ministry of education in the Diocese. A
registration fee of $5.00 is needed from
non-school personnel attending. For fur
ther information contact: Department of
Christian Formation, Grimball Point
Road, Savannah, Ga. 31406.
of ways and whose stories have touched
me deeply. A friend recently revealed to
me that twelve years ago she was raped by
three men and found herself pregnant as a
result. She and her fiance were opposed to
abortion; they were married with the hus
band willing to abid6 by whatever decision
she made concerning the baby’s future
after it was born. My friend didn’t think
she could love fully a child conceived in
such a manner, so the baby was given up
for adoption. Never did she question her
decision not to have an abortion, but the
decision to place the baby for adoption was
a source of guilt feelings for her. She is
overcoming those feelings in realizing that
she gave the baby the gift of life with the
grace of God. And then she gave that same
life to a couple who would love and
treasure it!
Last but not least is the gentleman 1 met
at a doctor’s office. He and I have found
ourselves there quite often, he bringing his
aged mother and me taking allergy injec
tions. My schedule has been different in
the last few years causing me to miss see
ing this fine man until last month. Since he
was there alone, I inquired about his 96
year old mother. He told me she had had
several strokes and was bedridden. He and
his wife care for his mother at home, set
ting the alarm to be sure to turn her over
every four hours around the clock. When
asked why he didn’t put his mother in a
nursing home, he replied that is was an
honor to care for her and as long as he
could do so, his mother would remain in
their home. As he paid the doctor’s bill, the
receptionist asked when and where he and
his wife would take a vacation. He, not
mentioning his mother at all, said his idea
of a vacation was to spend a few hours put
tering in the backyard flowers. And I
believe him.
Reading stories about saints is in
teresting. Meeting them is a joy beyond
words!
(Shirley is President of Macon Deanery
Council of Catholic Women)